This photograph of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier with the White House gingerbread house was taken in December 1999. Chef Mesnier and his team created gingerbread versions of the White House, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, and Mount Vernon. The scene also included the Potomac river winding through the display. The theme chosen for 1999 was "Saving America's Treasures," highlighting Mrs. Clinton's program to help preserve important landmarks and historic artifacts.

In this photograph, White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier prepares a bûche de Noël or Yule log cake in the White House Kitchen. The traditional holiday cake was a favorite at White House Christmas parties. Here, Chef Mesnier applies a layer of coffee buttercream to give the dessert its distinctive tree bark appearance. Mesnier joined the White House Kitchen in 1979 and retired in 2004.

In this photograph, taken by Shealah Craighead, former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier, and the White House pastry team work on the 2006 official White House Gingerbread House in the China Room. Mesnier retired in 2004 but returned at the request of First Lady Laura Welch Bush to create the "Red and White" gingerbread house for the 2006 holiday season, where it was displayed in the State Dining Room. Mesnier and his team decorated the gingerbread White House with more than 850 snowflakes and red bows made from royal icing. Pictured here from left to right: Roland Mesnier, Mark Ramsdell, Marlene Roudebush, and an unknown pastry chef.

In this photograph, taken by Shealah Craighead, former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier assists members of the White House Operations Crew in placing the 2006 Official White House Gingerbread House on a pier table in the State Dining Room. Mesnier retired in 2004, but returned at the request of First Lady Laura Welch Bush to create the "Red and White" gingerbread house for the 2006 holiday season. Mesnier and his team decorated the gingerbread White House with more than 850 snowflakes and red bows made from royal icing.

In this photograph, taken by Shealah Craighead, former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier (right) and assistant pastry chef Mark Ramsdell (left) work on assembling the 2006 Official White House Gingerbread House in the China Room. Ramsdell joined the White House pastry team in 1992, and worked alongside Mesnier as an assistant pastry chef in the White House Kitchen during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. Mesnier retired in 2004, but returned at the request of First Lady Laura Welch Bush to create the "Red and White" gingerbread house for the 2006 holiday season. Mesnier and his team decorated the gingerbread White House with more than 850 snowflakes and red bows made from royal icing.

In this photograph, taken on December 7, 1992, First Lady Barbara Bush poses with White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier and assistant pastry chef Franette McCulloch in front of the White House Gingerbread House in the State Dining Room. This was the first year Mesnier oversaw the creation of the gingerbread house. Mesnier diverted from the style of his predecessor, Hans Raffert, whose traditional A-frame gingerbread houses had been a staple of White House holiday celebrations since 1969. Instead, Mesnier and his pastry team constructed a winter village scene for the gingerbread display, complete with sledding marzipan elves.

This photograph shows staff members from the White House Pastry Shop posing in the East Room with a handmade chocolate eagle and a dessert buffet they prepared for the 2002 White House holiday season. The room is decorated for the season with multiple Christmas trees and an 18th century crèche, visible in the background. The 3-foot tall chocolate eagle was designed to complement First Lady Laura Welch Bush's "All Creatures Great and Small" holiday theme, but was so well received that sculpted chocolate eagles by the pastry shop became a tradition for the remainder of the George W. Bush administration. Pictured here from left to right: Jessie Betts, Noree Hathaway, Lindsay Michel, Susan "Susie" E. Morrison, Lynn McCartin, Marlene Roudebush, Roland Mesnier, Susan Limb, Patrick Musel, Donna Cellere, and Patty Stimmel.

In this photograph, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter greets White House Kitchen staff members in the Ground Floor Corridor during a visit to the White House in 1989. Here, she shakes hands with White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier, who she hired to serve as pastry chef for the White House in 1979. Pictured at left of Messier is White House Executive Chef Hans Raffert. Raffert began his career in the White House Kitchen as assistant executive chef in 1969. In 1988, he became the first member of the White House Kitchen staff to be promoted to the position of White House Executive Chef.

In this photograph, First Lady Laura Welch Bush shakes hands with White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier in the East Room upon his retirement on July 30, 2004. In recognition of his 25 years of service at the White House, Mesnier was presented his workbench as a retirement gift. A plaque denoting his tenure was specially made for the piece.

In this photograph, White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier and his assistant, Marlene Roudebush, work on the "American Village" gingerbread house. Created to complement First Lady Barbara Bush's holiday decorations in 1992, this was the first White House gingerbread house overseen by Mesnier. The whimsical scene, which incorporated multiple gingerbread houses and sledding marzipan elves, marked a departure from the traditional A-frame gingerbread houses created for the White House holiday season by Hans Raffert since 1969. Here, Chef Mesnier sprinkles powdered snow on the creation while Roudebush assembles a marzipan Santa Claus.

In this photograph, taken by Shealah Craighead in 2006, pastry chefs including Mark Ramsdell (far left), former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier (second from left) and Marlene Roudebush (far right) consult during the construction of the "Red and White" Gingerbread House in the China Room. The partially assembled gingerbread house is visible in the background, while a table holding a wall and plans is visible in the foreground. Mesnier's career at the White House began in 1979. He retired in 2004, but returned at the request of First Lady Laura Welch Bush to create the "Red and White" gingerbread house for the 2006 holiday season. Mesnier and his team decorated the gingerbread White House with more than 850 snowflakes and red bows made from royal icing.

In this photograph, taken by Shealah Craighead in 2006, former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier pours coverture chocolate into a cone as part of the preparations for the assembly of the "Red and White" gingerbread house in the China Room. Mesnier and his team piped coverture chocolate against the walls of the house to support its structural foundation. Mesnier's career at the White House began in 1979. He retired in 2004, but returned at the request of First Lady Laura Welch Bush to create the "Red and White" gingerbread house for the 2006 holiday season. Mesnier and his team decorated the gingerbread White House with more than 850 snowflakes and red bows made from royal icing.

This photograph was taken by Shealah Craighead in 2006, during the construction of the "Red and White" gingerbread house in the China Room. Here, former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier (far left) examines tempered couverture chocolate while other members of the pastry team including Mark Ramsdell and Marlene Roudebush work at a table in front of the fireplace at right. Mesnier oversaw construction and design of the "Red and White" gingerbread house. Mesnier's career at the White House began in 1979. He retired in 2004, but returned at the request of First Lady Laura Welch Bush to create the "Red and White" gingerbread house for the 2006 holiday season. Mesnier and his team decorated the gingerbread White House with more than 850 snowflakes and red bows made from royal icing.

In this photograph, taken by Shealah Craighead in 2006, pastry chefs including Mark Ramsdell (far left), former Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier (second from left), and Marlene Roudebush (far right) consult during the construction of their "Red and White" gingerbread house in the China Room. A table with a section of the wall and plans is visible in the foreground. Mesnier's career at the White House began in 1979. He retired in 2004 but returned at the request of First Lady Laura Welch Bush to create the "Red and White" gingerbread house for the 2006 holiday season. Mesnier and his team decorated the gingerbread White House with more than 850 snowflakes and red bows made from royal icing.

This photograph was taken by Shealah Craighead in 2006, during the construction of the "Red and White" gingerbread house in the China Room. Here, former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier assembles gingerbread base for the roof of the gingerbread house. Mesnier's career at the White House began in 1979. He retired in 2004, but returned at the request of First Lady Laura Welch Bush to create the "Red and White" gingerbread house for the 2006 holiday season. Mesnier and his team decorated the gingerbread White House with more than 850 snowflakes and red bows made from royal icing.

In this photograph, taken by Shealah Craighead, former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier (left) and assistant pastry chef Mark Ramsdell (right) work on assembling the 2006 Official White House Gingerbread House in the China Room. Ramsdell joined the White House pastry team in 1992, and worked alongside Mesnier as an assistant pastry chef in the White House Kitchen during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. Mesnier retired in 2004, but returned at the request of First Lady Laura Welch Bush to create the "Red and White" gingerbread house for the 2006 holiday season. Mesnier and his team decorated the gingerbread White House with more than 850 snowflakes and red bows made from royal icing.

This photograph was taken by Shealah Craighead in 2006, during the construction of the "Red and White" gingerbread house in the China Room. Here, former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier completes the finishing touches on a vibrant red tree made of marzipan "berries" that accompanied the gingerbread display. Prominently featured in the background is Howard Chandler Christy's ca. 1924 portrait of First Lady Grace Goodhue Coolidge. Mesnier's career at the White House began in 1979. He retired in 2004, but returned at the request of First Lady Laura Welch Bush to create the "Red and White" gingerbread house for the 2006 holiday season. Mesnier and his team decorated the gingerbread White House with more than 850 snowflakes and red bows made from royal icing.

This photograph was taken by Shealah Craighead in 2006, during the construction of the "Red and White" gingerbread house in the China Room. Here, former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier measures the base for the Third Floor of the gingerbread house. Mesnier's career at the White House began in 1979. He retired in 2004, but returned at the request of First Lady Laura Welch Bush to create the "Red and White" gingerbread house for the 2006 holiday season. Mesnier and his team decorated the gingerbread White House with more than 850 snowflakes and red bows made from royal icing.

In this photograph, White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier (fourth from left, wearing chef's hat) reunites with members of the White House pastry team at the corner of H Street and Connecticut Avenue near Lafayette Square following the evacuation of the White House on September 11, 2001. Although White House Chief User Gary Walters issued the evacuation notice to White House Residence staff following the terrorist attacks that morning, communication regarding the evacuation was difficult due to a lack of government-issued communication devices carried by White House staff. Unable to reach his colleagues working in the White House Pastry Shop, Chef Mesnier relied on his large chef's torque for his staff to identify him among the crowd of evacuees outside the White House.

This photograph, taken by White House photographer Mary Anne Fackelman on March 3, 1987, shows the White House Kitchen staff hard at work, possibly preparing an entree for a dinner hosted by President Ronald Reagan in the State Dining Room to honor new Members of Congress. White House Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier (left) plates the entree, while White House Executive Chef Henry Haller (right) transitions tied cuts of meat onto a cutting board. This photograph is part of a collection belonging to former White House Executive Chef Henry Haller. Haller served as executive chef at the White House from 1966-1987.